A request made to Cardiff Council revealed there are 7,219 empty properties in the city, which includes council-owned domestic and private domestic properties across all wards in the city. It was also revealed there are 1,902 empty commercial properties in the city.

The data demonstrates a rise of the number of empty properties in the city in the last year, and visibly shows the after affects of the recession on the city centre's shopping district. Continue reading...

The 'Don't be a problem parker' scheme hopes to clamp down on illegal parking in Cardiff Photograph: Hannah Waldram/guardian.co.uk

Cardiff Council has promised a crackdown on illegal parking in the city from today, as it takes over responsibility for enforcing parking restrictions and deploys new civil parking enforcement officers to the streets.

The council says an overhaul of the parking enforcement system will create a city geared up for choosing sustainable travel alternatives alongside increased measures to keep the traffic flowing – as people will no longer be able to 'get away with' illegal parking. Continue reading...